The Hoppy Times

March/April 1995

Contents

Venue Spotlight - Spring is in the Air

PALO ALTO - Pearl’s Oyster Bar, hiding a great little courtyard just off busy Romona Street in downtown Palo Alto, offers some of the finest non-land bearing entree’s to be found anywhere on the mid-peninsula. This eclectic little place is a well kept secret by the local’s, who during lunch and dinner make use of the wonderful outdoor seating area to experience some heavenly gastro-intestinal delights, while at the same time being able to quaff some of the more select microbrew’s from around the Bay Area...

Under new ownership since last fall, new owner Jean Cornill conducts most of the cooking, while Bar Manager, Andy Thompson has taken over the responsibility of selecting which micro’s to offer their patrons. Andy, with a very refined palate and also a devout home-brewer, is always looking for that distinctive beer to try, and eventually if it meets his standards, then offer it to his customer’s!

With Easter fast approaching, why not take that significant other for a totally unique outdoor treat!!! Make reservations for a dinner the both of you are sure to remember long after spring has faded into those hazy days of summer...

Pearl’s Oyster Bar - 535 Romona St.; #21, Palo Alto, CA - 415.328.2722

Las Vegas Gets Hoppy!

LAS VEGAS - In a move seen by many as a stroke of destiny, those ‘ol Purveyor’s of FunTM, once again managed to steal the show... Attending the annual Ski Industries of America (SIA) convention, along with five other well known micro’s, the Hoppy FaceTM was voted by a consumer preference poll as the favorite beer at the convention!!! In so doing, T.ROY Brewing, with its flagship product, Hoppy Face, gets to be the official beer of the SIA for 1996 season.

Super Bowl Highlights

CUPERTINO - Not only did the 49er’s score a decisive victory in their performance against the Charger’s, but the Hoppy Crew put on a spectacular performance at the Sports City Cafe. With Robert Helms at the controls, this local establishment had a blast trying to guess the final score for a plethora of prizes!!!

MOUNTAIN VIEW - While at Smitty’s Bar Grill, the crowd was busy testing their athletic skills by kicking field goals through the temporary goal posts erected for the event out back. Steve Rickman, the man for all occasions, put the event together for Ken Smith, proprietor of Smitty’s.

The Brewer’s Corner - Technical Series (part 1)

WILLOW GLEN - Starting with this issue of the HOPPY TIMES NEWSLETTER, and continuing through the next few issues, I will go over the fundamentals of brewing beer. We will start out with a complete overview about consuming finely hand-crafted beers. So get yourself a beer; preferably a HOPPY FACE AMBER ALE. Pour it into a clean glass if you happen to have a bottle, hold the beer up to a light, and use your eyes to admire its color and clarity. Now close your eyes and use your nose, deeply inhale, and take in the aroma of the brew. It may smell fruity, flowery, or possibly even spicy. Finally, for the fun part, take a sip and hold it in your mouth for a brief moment, then let roll over the back of your tongue; ok, now you can swallow... Now take another sip, and think about the prickly sensation caused by the carbonation, the slight maltiness, and the corresponding hop bitterness, all of which is relayed to the brain from various parts of the tongue.

This article and those that follow in subsequent issues, will not be written to teach you how to brew beer, but will be presented to enhance your appreciation for the ancient libation practices of appreciating finely brewed beer... Beer, much like wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is the direct result of the effect of a strain of yeast in a mixture of sugar and water. The yeast uses the sugar for its own growth and energy; basic survival... The main byproduct's of this process (fermentation) are ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. Wine and beer are both diluted solutions of pure alcohol. Thus, the main difference between beer and wine is that wine is made from grapes, which have naturally occurring sugars; whereas beer is made from malted grains. All that needs to be done to make fermentation possible in order to make wine, is to extract the sweet juices from the grapes and let it ferment. Beer, on the other hand, derives it alcohol from starch, such as those found in grains. Starch cannot be fermented. The starch (which are long chains of sugar molecules) needs to be chemically converted to sugar before the yeast can take over to complete the transformation. Because of this, brewing beer is more of a complex art. I will leave you here for right now. Look for the next issue of the HTN where I will be talking about malting and the mashing of grains. - by Craig Swackhammer

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